Description: Deranged and demented stories and poems that snap back against all that
holiday schmaltz. Our leanings are toward the dark, the speculative (SF,
fantasy, horror), the flat-out weird, the humorous, etc. (avoid common
“anti-Santa” stories).

Description: (SF/Fantasy/Horror/Humor) Space opera, SF, physics. The great Italian
scientist is famous for standing up for science in the face of the Inquisition,
doing his best work while under house arrest. He also brought us our first
views of Jupiter's moons by combining a convex lens with a concave one to
invent a high quality telescope. We invite you to take us on a journey to the
lands beyond earth revealed to us by Galileo and other space scientists.

Payment: $100 for flash fiction and $0.10/word up to $200 for longer pieces

Story Length: up to 7,000 words

Deadline: ongoing

Reprints?: possibly

Response: unknown

Description: Fiction that shines because of its exploration of craft. All genres and
styles are welcome; our only requirement is that you show excellence
in your craft. We want to be wowed. Bend genres, experiment with structure, and
write your heart out. Each selected piece will include an editor’s introduction
as well as a craft note from the author.

Friday, January 26, 2018

Hmmm…
just wrote a ’90s high school grunge mystery—semi-autobiographical—that ended
up at 11,000 words (after cutting from 13,000)…

In lieu of the current unmarketability of such an endeavor, I am here and now
claiming invention rights and credits for a new sub-genre: PARANORMAL-GRUNGE
THRILLER

I.e. should anyone else follow in my footsteps, you must credit as follows:

** The term was coined in 2018 by Eric J. Guignard via social media post. **

PARANORMAL-GRUNGE THRILLER: A specific form of Mystery sub-genre, similar in
generalities to sub-genre definitions such as “Cozy,” or “Y.A.” but with distinction
of slightly darker elements and situations as well as being set specifically in
the “grunge-era” of the 1990s; Paranormal-Grunge Thrillers also include a
supernatural element, and may be widely classified as a mystery or thriller, by
which the main character (generally the author in his/her teen or college years)
must solve a crime or puzzle.

A proto-Paranormal-Grunge Thriller is the novelette by Eric J. Guignard, “Up at
Spadra, Where the Dead Don't Exist” (2018).

Publishers forthwith rejoice! I am offering you the chance for a unique and (*potentially*!)
soon-to-be-wildly-successful market!

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Just
received my Active Writer acceptance into the Mystery Writers of America (MWA). Pleased
and excited to join this org that’s been around since 1945, promoting mystery
and crime thrillers! Additionally excited to be part of the regional So Cal. Chapter of
other local writers, and look forward to attending their L.A. events once in a while.

Description: Short speculative
fiction that considers the future of the internet, artificial intelligence, the
mind, and robots. Give us your optimistic, fantastic, bittersweet stories of
fantasy and science fiction.

Description: An anthology of
original short fiction that explores the physical and metaphysical boundaries
between humanity and the natural world. Fantasy or literary short works,
speculative fiction (broadly defined); stories should involve nature and the
weird at their core; how the author wishes to interpret these themes is
entirely up to them.

Story Length: begin with a
500-word sample. Story to extrapolate from there

Deadline: April 10, 2018

Reprints?: No

Response: 100 days (20
weeks)

Description: Warhammer (Games
Workshop) is one of the largest gaming giants in the world. This is a change to
work with them to write short stories within any one of their preexisting
“worlds”. Looking for horror; war; detective; mystery; or adventure tales. Must
only submit a 500 word sample, and if interested, editors will provide further
guidelines. This could be an immense opportunity, but there’s no word on
compensation. Black Library publishing here: https://www.blacklibrary.com

Story Length: Not yet given. Assume
soft range of up to 5,000 wordsDeadline: February 1, 2018—February
28, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: unknownDescription: Non-themed “unique”
horror in the vein of stories from previous anthology series such as
BORDERLANDS; WHISPERS; WOMEN OF DARKNESS, or anthologies edited by Charles L.
Grant, etc.
NOTE: THIS IS A GOFUNDME campaign, but nearly guaranteed to meet its goals.

Story Length: up to 5,000 wordsDeadline: March 1, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: 3 monthsDescription: Unique stories that
offer insights into the shared future of our planet. Tell us how our climate
will change if we don’t better protect our planet. Show us how the racial
divide in this country is only growing wider. Warn us of a coming era of
neo-colonialism if we don’t develop conscientious trade practices. Scare us
into taking digital security more seriously as we hand over the keys to our
digital lives to governments and non-state powers; Stories must be set at least
one generation in the future.

Story Length: up to 12,000 (but the shorter, the better)Deadline: IntermittentReprints?: NoResponse: Up to a year (though tracking status is utilized)Description: Fiction Mystery: stories of detection of the classic kind,
police procedurals, private eye tales, suspense, courtroom dramas, stories of
espionage, and so on. Story must be about a crime (or the threat or fear of
one). Sometimes accept ghost stories or supernatural tales, but those also
should involve a crime (fresh, well told, and absorbing).

Story Length: up to 2,000 wordsDeadline: Continually openReprints?: NoResponse: 3 months or lessDescription: Short fiction in the
genres of speculative fiction, specifically science fiction, fantasy, supernatural,
super hero, or any combination of these.We are looking for stories that are engaging to our readers in such a
short word count.

Story Length: 1,000 – 5,000 wordsDeadline: June 1, 2018Reprints?: Query FirstResponse: Not given, probably less
than 6 weeksDescription: Pizza Horror. Not so
much the goofy Goosebumps thing you
might imagine with a pizza horror story, but we’re taking it kind of seriously.
Like we take our pizza seriously. The humor is inherent in the pizza theme
already, so we’re playing this kind of straight. And if you think you’ve got
what it takes, like a healthy love of the cheesy cuisine, send us your best
work.

Story Length: 2,000 – 7,000 wordsDeadline: January
1, 2018—January 31, 2018Reprints?: NoResponse: Generally 2 weeks or lessDescription: Strange tales: Fictions supernatural, uncanny, weird, and
so forth; subtle and darksome literary horror. Though pay is low, editor is
very easy to speak with, and he sends out all published work for favorable
reviews and best of lists; i.e. good promotions and reputation.

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

Received
my contributor’s copy yesterday for the latest anthology I’m in THE BEAUTY OF DEATH - Vol. 2: Death by
Water: The Gargantuan Book of Horror Tales (November, 2017 by Independent Legions
Publishing)! Edited by Alessandro Manzetti & Jodi Renée Lester, I’m
thrilled to be included in another anthology this year in which I get to see my
name alongside so many friends and inspirations of horror writing! My story, “A
Journey of Great Waves,” is about an orphaned Japanese girl gone to live with
family in Hawaii who ruminates upon the shore wreckage of hurricanes, and what
it means to her.

Eric J. Guignard

About Me

Eric J. Guignard is a writer and editor of dark and speculative fiction, inking from the shadowy outskirts of Los Angeles.
His works have appeared in publications such as “Nightmare Magazine,” “Black Static,” “Shock Totem,” “Buzzy Magazine,” and “Dark Discoveries Magazine.”
Winner of the Bram Stoker Award, he’s also been a finalist for the International Thriller Writers Award and a multi-nominee of the Pushcart Prize. Outside the glamorous and jet-setting world of indie fiction, Eric’s a technical writer and college professor, and he stumbles home each day to a wife, children, cats, and a terrarium filled with mischievous beetles.
Besides this blog, visit Eric at: www.ericjguignard.com or Twitter: @ericjguignard